ABSTRACT

This title was first published in 2003. Drawing on literary, art historical and historical studies, this essay collection explores the complex encounter between culture and politics within Surrealism. The Surrealist movement was one of the first cultural movements to question explicitly the relation between culture and politics, and its attempt to fuse social and cultural revolution has been a critical factor in shaping our sense of modernity. This anthology addresses not only the contested ground between culture and politics within Surrealism itself, and within the subsequent historical accounts of the movement, but also the broader implications of this encounter on our own sense of modernity. Its goal is to delineate the role of radical politics in shaping the historical trajectory of Surrealism.

chapter |17 pages

Introduction

Revolution by Night: Surrealism, Politics and Culture

chapter Chapter 1|19 pages

The Politics of Surrealism, 1920–36*

chapter Chapter 5|20 pages

Surrealism Noir

chapter Chapter 9|25 pages

Surrealism in 1938: The Exhibition at War

chapter Chapter 11|20 pages

Aimé Césaire’s Insurrectionary Poetics

chapter Chapter 12|21 pages

Hans Bellmer’s Libidinal Politics

chapter Chapter 13|33 pages

Attacks of the Fantastic